2. Channelling to reception and identification procedure: According to the law, newly arrived persons should be directly transferred to a RIC or CCAC, where they are subject to a 5-day “restriction of freedom within the premises of the centre” (περιορισμός της ελευθερίας εντός του κέντρου), which can be further extended by a maximum of 25 days if reception and identification procedures have not been completed.146 This restriction of freedom entails “the prohibition to leave the Centre and the obligation to remain in it”.147 Such a restriction is ordered on the basis of a written, duly motivated decision;148 3. Registration and medical checks, including identification of vulnerable groups;149 4. Referral to the asylum procedure: As soon as asylum applications are made, the Special Rapid Response Units (Ειδικά Κλιμάκια Ταχείας Συνδρομής) of the Asylum Service distribute the cases according to country of origin. Subsequently, they proceed to prioritisation of applications according to nationality (see Prioritised Examination);150 5. Further referral and transfer to other reception or detention facilities depending on the circumstances of the case.151 2.2.1 Reception and identification procedures on the islands At the early stages of the implementation of the EU-Türkiye Statement, persons arriving on the Eastern Aegean islands and thus subject to the Statement, were systematically and indiscriminately detained. Such measure was imposed either de facto, under the pretext of a decision restricting the freedom within the premises of the RIC for a period of 25 days, or under a deportation decision together with a detention order. This differs from the “geographical restriction” on the island, mentioned below. Following criticism by national and international organisations and actors, and due to limited capacity to maintain and run closed facilities on the islands with high population numbers, the “restriction of freedom” as a de facto detention measure was no longer applied in the RICs, as of the end of 2016, with the exception of Kos. The measure of ‘restriction of freedom’ was still imposed on all newcomers in Kos throughout 2022. It applied for a period of 25 days, within which the applicants were banned from exiting the facility. Since July 2022, a 25-day movement restriction has also been applied to new arrivals in Samos CCAC.152 In both Kos and Samos, the restriction is imposed for a period of 25 days regardless of whether the Reception and Identification procedures have been in fact completed or not. According to the Samos centre’s administration, all newly arrived asylum applicants are only permitted to exit the centre after 25 days, despite being fully identified and registered within the first five days of their arrival, 153 rendering the measure unjustified. This also applies in Kos, where until April 2022, Reception and Identification procedures, as well as the initial registration of asylum application by RIS and the call for interview by RAO were often completed within a day. In any case, those who arrived since March 2020 on the Eastern Aegean Islands have been subject to a seven-day, ten-day or 14-day quarantine period,154 so as to prevent the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus, prior to their transfer to RICs in order to undergo reception and identification procedures, which were only carried out once the asylum seekers were moved out of quarantine. A geographical restriction is also systematically imposed on every newly arrived person on the Greek islands, initially by the police and the Head of the Asylum Service, imposing the obligation to remain on the islands and within the RIC facilities. For more details on the geographical 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 Article 40 Asylum Code. Ibid. Article 40(a) Asylum Code. Article 41 Asylum Code. Article 42(c)Asylum Code. Article 43(a)Asylum Code. ‘Greek Council for Refugees & Oxfam International Submission Inquiry on Fundamental Rights in the EUfunded Migration Facilities on the Greek Islands- Case OI/3/2022/MHZ’, available at: https://bit.ly/3NdkNPT. ‘Greek Council for Refugees & Oxfam International Submission Inquiry on Fundamental Rights in the EUfunded Migration Facilities on the Greek Islands- Case OI/3/2022/MHZ’, available at: https://bit.ly/3NdkNPT. Information provided by the Reception and Identification Service, 26 February 2021. 45